Court deals TotalEnergies and Shell a major blow

A South African court has rescinded an environmental authorisation granted to TotalEnergies and its joint venture partner Shell to explore for oil in a block off the Cape coast, a court judgment seen by Reuters showed.

However, the court said TotalEnergies should be given a chance to rectify deficiencies identified, including a failure to properly assess the potential socio-economic impacts of any oil spills, or take climate change into consideration.

“Total must be afforded opportunity to submit new or amended assessments … to cure the deficiencies identified,” Western Cape High Court Judge Nobahle Mangcu-Lockwood said in her August 13 ruling.

A TotalEnergies spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The French company said last year it intended to exit the concession, Block 5/6/7 located between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas, leaving the operatorship to Shell, with South Africa’s PetroSA holding a minority share.

The order is the latest in a series of court challenges between environmentalists and oil companies looking to explore along South Africa’s coast.

Oil companies are making a major push into the west coast of South Africa, where they are looking to replicate the success in neighbouring Namibia following a cluster of discoveries in its part of the prolific Orange Basin.

The basin extends into South African waters, but has remained largely unexplored there.

Welcoming the judgment, non-profit organisation Natural Justice, one of the applicants in the case, said it was a victory in the growing opposition to oil and gas exploration in South Africa.

“This judgment again confirms that companies must follow due process, undertake comprehensive assessments and provide communities with an opportunity to be heard,” Melissa Groenink-Groves, a programme manager at the group, said in a statement.

• Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Alexander Winning and Jan Harvey.